


Under His Spell

by spierfics



Series: Spierfeld AU Collection [62]
Category: Love Simon (2018), Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda - Becky Albertalli
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Howlers (Harry Potter), M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-24
Updated: 2018-09-24
Packaged: 2019-07-16 11:30:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16085240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spierfics/pseuds/spierfics
Summary: a-terribly-run-aesthetic-blog on tumblr prompted: Can you do a Hogwarts au fit where it’s kind of like Draco x Harry where they think the other hates them but they just love each other (also instead of emails, they send each other howlers at random points of the day) thanks





	Under His Spell

Simon woke up that morning with a groan. Tuesdays were his least favorite day of the week, and Simon wished he could convince everyone he was too ill to attend class. 

But Simon had tried that during his first week back at school, and he’d learned that trying to fool Madam Pomfrey was the worst decision he’d ever made.

On Tuesdays, Fourth-Year Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws shared Potions, Charms and Transfiguration classes; and it wasn’t that Simon had a problem with Ravenclaws. That wasn’t it, he had a problem with a particular Ravenclaw.

Bram Greenfeld.

Simon remembered the day he got sorted, there were murmurs going around that his mother was a famous Slytherin and that Bram  _Green_ feld was obviously meant to be one as well. He’d turned heads when the sorting hat placed him in Ravenclaw, but the house of the wisest amongst them had welcomed him with open arms.

Simon had personally never given any thought to House sorting, and even though he’d found his home in Hufflepuff that didn’t prevent him from making friends from other houses. Leah Burke, one of his earliest and closest friends was a Slytherin. Nick and Abby often ended up abandoning their Gryffindor pals to sit with Leah and him during meal times.

It was actually through Nick that he’d first gotten to know Bram. Nick and Abby were both on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, each one becoming a rising star in their own positions. 

They’d only been on the team for a year, during which Gryffindor won the cup when a new player came to oppose them. Bram Greenfeld was possibly one of the best Quidditch players Hogwarts had seen in a long time.

* * *

Originally, Simon had no problem with Bram. He was just another opposing team player that Abby and Nick would rant about during dinner. Simon had often thought he was rather cute, but he wouldn’t dare bring that up in front of his friends. No that was something he happily kept to himself, and then the Howlers started. 

He had been sitting in the Great Hall next to Leah when a Howler came up right to him and yelled: “ ** _STOP STARING AT MY ASS!_** ”.

Everyone around him immediately started laughing, and Simon had never been more humiliated in his life. He would have been lying if he didn’t know who that was from. 

Apparently, Bram had noticed and had chosen to embarrass him in the worst possible way. And Simon wasn’t going to let him get away with it.

* * *

It soon became a never-ending game between them, one always finding a way to outdo the other. Simon had once sent a Howler to Bram in the middle of an exam, which had shocked him so terribly that he spilled ink all over his parchment. Bram had once found a way to send one to Simon on the toilet.

They never spoke to each other outside the Howlers, somehow developing a weird rivalry that all the students were in on. It got even worse during the classes they shared, and the two of them were often forced to stay after class and forced to apologize for disrupting the lecture.

They’d part ways after that, waiting for the next opportunity to get back at the other.

* * *

“Did you hear they’re going to bring back Dueling lessons,” Leah announced during dinner one evening.

“Really?” Abby asked, looking skeptical. “That’s a recipe for disaster,”

“In what way?” Nick asked, taking a bite from his plate.

“Because Simon will set the record for the first Hufflepuff to blast a Ravenclaw into smithereens,” Leah laughed, nudging Abby with her shoulder.

“Granted that Greenfeld doesn’t do it first,”

“And here I thought you all were my friends,” Simon said rolling his eyes.

* * *

Simon was certain that the professors were in on student gossip because in their next Defense Against the Dark Arts class, he was paired up with Bram to practice disarming spells. Yet another way Bram could completely humiliate him in front of everyone.

Which is why Simon didn’t think. He didn’t listen to instructions and he didn’t care what spell Bram planned on casting. He aimed his wand and yelled  _“PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!”._

Nobody had time to react, least of all Bram, who froze in place and fell forward. Simon only saw the slightest hint of blood on the floor where Bram lay before a rush of students shoved him aside.

* * *

“I’m an asshole,” Simon groaned. He’d been given detention for three straight weeks, and as a result, had resigned to his dorms to mope. The only being listening to his remorse was his pet owl, Elliott.

Simon knew he was in the wrong; no matter what type petty disagreement was going on between the two of them, Bram had never hurt him physically. Not once. Simon realized that there were certain rules that they never broke either. Their Howlers were usually filled with random jokes about the other or a sarcastic take on what had happened while they shared a class.

And although Simon didn’t know what to expect, he knew what he had to do.

* * *

Simon stepped into the hospital wing, having made sure that the rest of Bram’s friends had left to let him rest. Simon couldn’t imagine facing them alone.

He walked up to Bram’s bed, wondering if he should come back at another time. Or not at all.

“Is that you Spier?”

“Uh- Y-Yes,”

“Came to finish the job?” Bram’s tone didn’t sound angry at all, which Simon found surprising.

“No,” Simon said quietly. “I came to apologize. I didn’t mean to hurt you,”

Bram didn’t say anything for a moment, and Simon looked up at him only to find him smiling.

“Do you mean that?”

“What?”

“You really didn’t want to hurt me?” Bram asked.

“Of course not,” Simon claimed.

“Your Howlers gave me a different impression,” Bram shrugged, still maintaining a smile, although this time it was slightly different. Sadder.

“Well, yours weren’t exactly the friendliest to begin with. In fact, it all started with your first one,” Simon explained.

“What!?” Bram said, looking genuinely shocked. “You started the Howlers out of nowhere,”

“Um, I’m not sure how hard you knocked your head this afternoon but you sent me the very first one, the one that told me to…”

“To what?” Bram insisted on knowing.

 _“To stop checking out your ass,”_ Simon said in a hushed tone.

“I didn’t send that,” Bram said, his voice as soft as Simon’s.

“What?”

“Simon,” Bram said, looking down at his hands nervously. “I remember every single word I've ever sent you. That was not from me,”

“Really,”

“I would have been a hypocrite if I did,”

“What!” Simon exclaimed, never having been more shocked at a sentence.

“I thought you hated me,” Bram said. “And I’d accepted that the only way I’d ever get to talk to you was through Howlers,”

“I don’t hate you,” Simon confessed. “I tried to,”

“I’m glad it didn’t work,” Bram laughed nervously. “Is it okay if we try to start over?”

“I’d like that,”

Bram reached his hand out, and Simon took it.

* * *

Simon ended up spending the night at the hospital wing, hiding under the bed while Madam Pomfrey did her checks. Simon discovered that Bram could have actually gone back to his dorms as well, but had somehow charmed his way into missing a day of classes.

“Sometimes you just need a break,” Bram whispered. “From everything,”

They spent the night talking. Simon found himself talking about his family, Alice’s job at St. Mungo’s and Nora learning how to animate Muggle instruments. He talked about how he’d first met Abby, Nick, and Leah, and how close they all were now. 

Bram was interested in the fact that inter-house friendship came so easily to Simon. It was the fact that Leah was a Slytherin that got Bram talking about his family.

“Everyone thinks I’m supposed to be in Slytherin, because of my mother. But she told me when I first got my letter that I should never care what everyone in this school thinks. I had to go where I felt right,”

“And you did,”

“I did,”

“Which house was your father in?”

“He didn’t go to Hogwarts,” Bram said. “He’s not a wizard,”

“Oh,” Simon didn’t know what to say. He knew this was something Bram wasn’t comfortable talking about, and definitely not something he shared with everyone. Simon didn’t take that responsibility lightly.

In just a few hours, Bram became someone Simon wanted to never stop talking to.

* * *

They eventually figured out the source of the original Howler. It was never meant for Simon, nor was it from Bram. The originator was Alfie Warren, a teammate of Bram’s, and the recipient was Leah.

Leah took the information lightheartedly, remarking that she would have a few words with Warren. Abby and Nick seemed hesitant at first, but eventually, they warmed up to Bram. Simon couldn’t blame them.

He couldn’t believe that all the time they’d wasted not knowing each other because of a simple misunderstanding. But Simon came to the realization about how that wasn’t exactly true.

He did get to know Bram in a way. He got to know his wit, his sense of humor, and his incredible ability to notice things people would generally miss.

But nothing prepared him for getting to know Bram by talking to him. Really talking to him. Instead of Howlers, they’d now send each other letters. They’d sit together during breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Bram would walk him to class and Simon would meet him before Quidditch practice.

It was during one of their walks near the Black Lake that Simon worked up the nerve to ask Bram on a date.

* * *

“Honeydukes?” Bram asked as they walked through the streets of Hogsmeade, hands intertwined and huddled together.

“We could go to the Three Broomsticks if you’d like, or we could just walk around more?”

“I’m just surprised you know me so well,” Bram smiled, opening the door for Simon. “Shall we?”

Simon was nearly broke by the end of that evening, having spent nearly all his money on  _chocolate cauldrons_  and  _sugar quills._

Bram popped a  _jelly bean_ into his mouth, and the look of relief indicated that he’d gotten a normal flavor. As they exited the store, Bram offered to carry some of the candy Simon was holding.

“As much as I love Honeydukes, I have to confess, there is one Muggle snack that puts a lot of these to shame,” Bram commented. “Oreos, have you heard of them?”

Simon wondered what was the appropriate waiting time to declare how utterly and completely in love he was. He couldn’t wait for much longer.


End file.
